REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 3 Episode Seven 'The Last Supper'

REVIEW: Bates Motel, Season 3 Episode Seven 'The Last Supper'

There is something undeniably ominous about an episode entitled 'The Last Supper'. It suggests a calm before a storm, a final meal before someone pops their clogs. It's not helped by the fact that there are plenty of candidates for people in this series who could die sometime soon, either by natural causes or at the hands of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore). It certainly seems something is brewing.

Perhaps the most prime candidate to meet their maker is Emma (Olivia Cooke). She has cystic fibrosis which requires her to carry around an oxygen tank, and she is in dire need of a liver transplant. We get a touching moment in this episode where her Dad Will (Now played by Andrew Howard) opens up to Dylan (Max Thieriot) about how Emma doesn't have long to live, and seems to be in denial about her own limitations, and I just love the lengths Dylan is prepared to go to in order to secure Emma's future. He is even willing to take on a highly dangerous criminal job in order to fast-track her up the liver transplant list. It further solidifies Dylan's strong sense of loyalty, and shows what separates him from his brother Norman. Dylan is someone who strives to help people in whatever form he can, and whatever the cost.

 

It also shines Dylan's Dad Caleb (Kenny Johnson) in a more sympathetic light, although I still don't think he's a character who can be redeemed. Whilst he does display a certain level of compassion towards his son Dylan when he tries to warn him off taking the job, what he did to Norma all those years ago is just too gross, immoral and wildly inappropriate that I don't think there is any way he can be seen differently in the eyes of the audience.

Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) has his own emotional discovery to attend to this week, as he discovers that his late mother's name is on the drug ledger contained on the USB hard drive. You could imagine seeing something as personal as that would be such a major shock to the system, and Nestor Carbonell plays it well. You feel that emotional connection, and that punch to the gut making that discovery leaves behind.  

His father (played by Emiliano Díez) seems somewhat despicable. Alex pays a visit to him in prison, and although he claims to have loved his mother he shows little remorse for putting her name on that ledger. He's a character you just love to hate, as it comes clear that he's only bothered about reaping the profits from the drug business, and you can see exactly why Alex clearly doesn't visit him very often. It offers a truly great scene between father and son, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of him yet.

Another important scene is Dylan telling Norma (Vera Farmiga) about how Norman assumed her presence whilst she was gone. This is perhaps one of the most vital sequences in the series, as it sets into motion the events which will eventually end in Norma's death at the hands of Norman, with Norman fully taking on the identity of 'Mother'. It's a quiet sequence between Dylan and Norma, but you don't need things to be loud in order to sell the emotion of a scene, and the performances between the two actors put it across perfectly. This leads to Norma introducing Norman to her latest love interest, the therapist James Finnnigan (Joshua Leonard), who gives Norman a quick therapy session in the motel basement. It's such a well crafted scene, as Norman turns the tables and starts to question the therapist instead, before coming close to murdering the poor guy. What this part of the story does so well is demonstrate the dark recesses of Norman's mind, as James gets a little too close to the truth and works out that Norman fancies his mother on a romantic level. It rarely ends well when people cross Norman Bates. Overall, 'The Last Supper' is an excellent episode that neatly showcases the dark corners of Bates Motel. It's a show where everybody has a grey area to their personality, and nobody is truly free of the murk. It just so happens that Norman Bates possesses a little more darkness inside than most in the nearby vicinity of the motel, and it feels as though it won't be too much longer before Norman cracks once again.

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What are your thoughts on the seventh episode of Bates Motel's third season? Let me know in the comments section.